Uki Doki Memorial
by Cherry268
Summary: What happens when Renge "generously" allows Haruhi to get acquainted with her wonderful game Uki Doki Memorial? Will Haruhi ever be able to look at the "Shadow King" the same way ever again?
1. Cake

**Hello everyone! This idea just came to me, so I decided to write it down before I forgot about it. Sorry if there's some mistakes in it...I don't have a beta reader right now. Hopefully you'll like this! Oh...I'm writing many stories at one time (I know, I know...I'm evil) so I apologize if I update slowly. The more reviews I get will let me know which ones to update the quickest though! :-) I also wanted to apologize for how short this chapter is...I guess it's really more of an introduction than a full chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or the anime...I just kidnapped them and tossed them into my own little world for a bit! :-)**

Today was February 4th. It should have been just like any other day, but it wasn't. Damn that Kyouya anyway! Why did he have to know everything about everyone! Keeping profiles on people; she knew that this was all his fault. He may not have been the one to decorate, or bake the cake, but he didn't have to. All he had to do was open his mouth just like he always does! All that would be required is a small comment to Tamaki and that would be all it would take for the entire Host Club to be involved; everyone but her of course. After all, she wouldn't be able to be involved since it was a surprise for her.

"Happy Birthday Haru-chan!" Honey jumped into her arms and gave her a hug. "We picked out lots of cakes for you Haru-chan!" He hopped down and immediately dragged her over to a table that was weighed down with every sort of cake imaginable. "Thanks Honey-senpai, but I don't really like sweets remember?" Honey almost looked hurt. In fact, he was staring at her now with those big crocodile tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. Great, now she'd managed to hurt Honey's feelings. "I'll tell you what...if any of you can figure out which one of those is my favorite, then I'll eat a piece."

By now, all of the Host Club's members were close enough to hear her challenge and she was enjoying the looks on each of their faces. "Okay everybody, project find Haruhi's favorite cake will now begin!" Leave it to Tamaki to turn this into another one of their "projects". They were all hovering around the table looking at the different cakes and trying to decide; everyone but Kyouya-senpai that is. As usual, he was looking in that folder of his again.

"Okay now everyone, what does Haruhi like?" Tamaki now had the rest of the members in a huddle. They were all talking low, but she wasn't really interested in what they were all saying. She decided to go and sit down; she would like to attempt to get some peace before their customers started coming in.

"Enjoy your cake...Haruhi." Kyouya sat the plate down in front of her with a bow before turning around and walking back to his laptop. The other members were all waiting to see whether or not it was right, or if by chance it wasn't. She looked down at the cake and everyone started to cheer when she brought a small bite up to her lips. It was strawberry...her favorite.


	2. Presents

The last of the customers had left. She was actually really glad that they were all gone; she didn't like being the center of attention like that. She had just picked up her bag and decided to leave when she heard the mechanical whirring of what could only be Renge's machine. Renge's almost manic laughter followed the sound, and soon she was visible. "Haruhi! Happy Birthday!" One of these days, they were going to have to have Kyouya investigate exactly how she did that. "I know you don't like presents, but I decided that I just HAD to give you something. So, I tried to think of the absolute _**perfect **_gift for you and I remembered how you had wanted to come over and play games with me but you couldn't, so I decided that for your birthday that I would give you the absolute most wonderful game in my entire collection...none other than Uki Doki Memorial!" The brightly colored bag was thrust in her direction while Renge decided to dance around the room going into bliss about the wonderful characters that the game had in it; especially Ichijo Miyabi.

"Um, thank you Renge. I don't know how often I'll get to play it though; I don't have a gaming system to be able to play it." Renge stopped dancing around pointed towards the door. Standing there was a man with another present. "I've got all of your gaming needs taken care of, so no excuses! Play it this weekend and tell me what you think about it!" With that, she jumped back on to her stage and she was lowered down to...actually nobody really knew where she went.

"That's not fair! I wanted to be the first one to give Haru-chan a present!" Honey ran up to her and presented her with a small pink bag. "Really you guys, I don't need any presents." When Honey just kept looking at her expectantly, she sighed and opened the bag. Inside was a smaller version of Honey's stuffed rabbit. There was one other difference, it was dangling from a chain of some sorts. "Isn't it great Haru-chan! This way, you can hang it on your keys or your back-pack!" She smiled down at Honey. "Yeah, it's very cute Honey; thank you."

Honey smiled and walked over to Mori who was holding a dark blue box. He walked over and handed it to her with a smile. She opened it up and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face; leave it to Mori to give her the fatty tuna she so loved; it was the perfect gift. She placed the box on the nearest table and walked over to give him a hug.

"Haruhi! Daddy wants to give you his present now!" Tamaki grabbed her hand and walked over to one of the closets in the room. When he opened it, she could see a huge arrangement of assorted flowers wrapped with a huge white bow. Leave it to Tamaki to give her something so outrageous. It was going to be impossible walking home with that. "Thank you senpai, they're lovely." Tamaki grabbed her and twirled her around and around until she was dizzy. "Oh Haruhi, you're so cute!"

The twins were creeping up behind her with a blue and an orange bag. "Haruhi, wear this tonight when we bring you out to eat!" The first bag contained a lovely red spaghetti strapped dress. When she opened the second bag, her face matched the color of the dress. Inside was some very revealing Italian lingerie; or at least that's what she thought it was. "Our mother made it for you." She hoped they were just referring to the dress.

Kyouya walked forward and placed a violet envelope in her hands along with a single red rose. He didn't even stick around for her to open the card, he simply grabbed his bag and walked out. It was so typical Kyouya that she had to smile. She had meant it when she said she didn't want a present, so a birthday card and her favorite flower was his way of showing that he remembered her birthday. If it had been anyone but Kyouya, she'd think the flower was a coincidence, but knowing how he researched people, she'd bet he knew; exactly how he knew she wasn't sure though.


	3. Dinner and a gift?

The twins gave her a ride home and said that they'd be back at around five to pick her up. She tried telling them that they didn't have to worry about it, but the little devils threatened to sing her songs outside her window if she didn't agree. Forget little devils, the twins were demons! So, she agreed and even promised to wear their dress to dinner; she hadn't promised to wear the lingerie beneath it though.

She walked inside and decided to study for a little bit before changing for dinner. She figured that it would be better to get it done now; it was becoming harder and harder to study with the guys always wanting to spend time with her. Lately, she'd taken to cramming right before a big test and doing her homework between classes. If this kept up, she wasn't going to keep her number one rank; she wasn't about to get kicked out of school for these guys.

After she finished studying, she got ready. She had just finished fixing her hair when she heard a knock at the door. When she opened the door, Tamaki was the last person she had expected to see. "Haruhi! Daddy has come to bring you to dinner!" When she looked behind him, the rest of their group was visible. She looked towards the twins for some sort of explanation, but they weren't much help. "We still don't understand how this turned into a group outing, so don't ask us."

When they arrived at the restaurant, she received yet another surprise; her father was already there and waiting for them. "Dad! I didn't know that you'd be here. What about work?" Her father hugged her and gave her a wink from behind his very made-up face. "Don't worry about that, let's just eat huh?" It was surprising to see her father here having such a good time. He was all decked out in a beautiful gown. He looked really beautiful tonight.

Haruhi yawned and opened the door to their apartment; her father seemed even more tired than she was. He immediately took off towards his bedroom and she was going to do the same. She turned on the lights and decided to wash up before heading to bed; it took her a full five minutes to realize that something was different about her room. All things considered, she couldn't believe it took her that long!

Her bed...last she checked she did not have a bed like that. Well, to tell the truth there wasn't anything different about the bed itself, just what was on it. She brought her hands to the material to feel it; it was so soft. The most beautiful silver sheets with a thick black comforter. It was obviously an expensive gift. Undoubtedly, it meant that it came from someone in the host club, but who?

Was this some sort of joint present? That must be it, but if that was the case then why didn't they tell her about it? Surely Tamaki would have tried to take some sort of credit for picking it out or something; he couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it. So who was it from? She looked around for a clue and found a printed card. It read, "Happy Birthday" but that was it.

She looked around for her sheets, but couldn't find them. She really shouldn't sleep on it, but she really was tired and she didn't relish the idea of changing the sheets anyway. Was it possible she could keep it? Could she? Without knowing who it was from?

Apparently...she could.


	4. Uki Doki Memorial

**Hello everyone! I've been getting so many wonderful comments from everybody! It's really been making me get into this story! I'm already working on the next chapter, so hopefully I'll be able to update again soon! I just wanted to get a few things cleared up before I went on. For those of you who kept up with the manga, I never read it, so you'll have to forgive me if I base the characters off of what I saw in the anime. For those of you who followed the anime...treat it as if Eclair never happened. They decided to keep Haruhi's secret just a little longer. Treat it as time went by normally to the next year. By now, Honey and Mori would be in the university section of Ouran. So, if there are any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. Now, on to the story!___________________________________________________________**

What time was it? She looked at her clock and almost fell out of bed; her wonderfully soft bed. As she examined it, she smiled...then she remembered that she didn't know who the gift was from. She didn't have school today so she couldn't ask the guys unless she called them, but then she'd probably have to commit to spending the day with them. It was tempting, but she had some serious studying to do, plus if she didn't play this game that Renge gave her she had a feeling that she'd be in trouble with the self-proclaimed "lady manager".

She got ready for the day and then decided to go ahead and set up her new gaming system. She got it ready pretty easily and sat down to put in Uki Doki Memorial. Alright, what now? She needed to make a profile, okay, that should be simple enough.

**Name:** Haruhi

**Age:** 16...oops...17 now.

**Hair:** Brown

**Height: ** 155

Why did this game need to know all of that about her?

_**Hello Haruhi, could you tell us about your ideal man?**_ She read the screen and frowned. Her ideal type of man huh? She'd never really thought about that before. _**Is he taller than you are?**_ Well, if she thought about it she probably wouldn't want to date someone shorter than she was, so yes. _**Is he older than you are? **_ ...Ugh...was there a skip button? She didn't want to answer a million questions when she wasn't even sure if she knew the answers to them herself!

"What!" The first person she was going to get to know in the game based off of her answers was HIM! Ugh, she had to be cursed or something; that was the only way to describe this turn of events. She didn't know if she could play this game with the spitting image of Kyouya on the screen. When she looked at the game, she could really see the similarities between this Ichijo Miyabi character and Kyouya.

She sighed and almost turned the game off, but then again she had a feeling that Renge wouldn't stop pestering her until she played. In fact, it may be lucky for her that she got Ichijo Miyabi first because then she could tell Renge what she thought about him; he was probably the only character in the game Renge wanted to hear about anyway.

_**FIVE HOURS LATER**_

"Is that the time already!" Geez, she could see how it was so easy for Renge to be addicted to this game! You just sort of lost track of time! She had to get off this game and finish up some homework. She had a test coming up too! She should have studied first and then played the game after that! Ahhh this was terrible...she wanted to play the game some more!

Wait...was she turning into some closet otaku? She should have played enough to satisfy Renge by now...she'd just put it away and forget about it. It wasn't like she had wanted to play it for any particular reason other than to satisfy Renge anyway right? She nodded her head, convinced that that had been her reason for wanting to continue playing the game...to satisfy Renge.

**Just in case some of you are unfamiliar with the term, I've listed the defination of otaku below. Oh, and yes...in this story (as with the anime) it is an insult.**

Otaku, meaning probably "venerable house," refers to someone who has a devotion to a subject or hobby (not necessarily anime) to the point of not leaving home. For instance, an otaku fan of a particular movie star could quite possibly know all of the films s/he has been in, their birth date, time of birth, shoe size, favorite toothpaste, etc. Generally speaking, calling someone an otaku in Japan is an insult, implying that their social skills have atrophied or never even developed, due to their manic involvement in their chosen fandom.

In America, the term is used to denote a zealous fan, usually of anime and/or manga. Due to its introduction to most people's vocabulary through its tongue-in-cheek use in Gainax's film, "otaku" tends to have a much less dire definition overseas.

When dealing with Japanese people, however, it may be best to keep in mind the modern Japanese image of an otaku -- Someone who only leaves their home to eat or shop, if at all, with an overwhelming and unhealthy obsession about something. It can as easily refer to a stalker or sociopath as it can to a harmless anime buff.


	5. School

"Good morning Haru-chan!" Honey was looking up at her from his usual place at the table; a half demolished piece of cake on his plate. "Haru-chan, are you okay? You look like you didn't get much sleep. Are you tired? Have some cake! It always makes me feel more energetic!" Haruhi would never admit it if you asked it of her, but the reason why she looked like she didn't get much sleep is because after she was done studying, she had gotten back on that game again and ended up staying up half the night. Geez, what was wrong with her? To top it all off, she hadn't even seen Renge yet, so she hadn't been able to talk to her about it. Not that she wanted to talk about it or anything, it's just that she knew that Renge would drill her about the game is all and she wanted to get it over with already; that was it.

She waved away the proffered piece of cake and sat down. As soon as she did, she could feel a shadow looming over her...and there was only one person in their club that dealt with shadows. "Haruhi, you have several appointments today." She turned around to look at him and was instantly reminded of all the things that Ichijo Miyabi had been saying to her in the game. It was...awkward.

"Haruhi, are you feeling alright? You don't look well." Kyouya had stopped talking about the girls that had requested her and bent down to get a close look at her face. He then did something that she would never have believed him capable of...with concern in his eyes, he reached out a hand and he felt her forehead! It was just the sort of thing that the kind-hearted Ichijo Miyabi would have done, but this was Kyouya!

For about half a minute, Haruhi wondered if she was still asleep and just portraying Ichijo Miyabi's kindness into Kyouya; then she remembered her history test from earlier and decided that she wouldn't be that hard on herself in her dreams. With Kyouya this close and all the recent game conversations floating through her brain, she couldn't help the slight blush that spread across her cheeks. What was it that Kyouya had just asked her, if she was feeling alright? "Oh don't worry about me, I'm fine." Her awkward laugh sounded fake even to her own ears, but at least he straightened up and wasn't touching her anymore.

The last of the customers were leaving and all she could think about was going home and going to bed; math homework be damned. Actually, that reminded her...she still didn't know who had given her the bed set. Should she ask them all at once, or should she ask them all individually? Maybe asking them all at once would be better since that meant that she'd only have to ask it the one time. She had almost asked, but then she stopped and thought about it. Tamaki was standing right there. She had a feeling that if she asked them all that he would go into his theatrics again about how somebody amongst their group was trying to corrupt his "daughter" again.

So, perhaps individually was the best option after all. Who to ask first? Tamaki was definitely out of the question, in fact, if she could avoid him hearing about this then she'd be thrilled. If she asked the twins, they'd probably offer to sleep in the bed with her to "ensure" that it was actually soft. Honestly, they were probably the ones that bought it for her and this was probably some sick little game of theirs. They were probably just waiting for her to bring it up so that they could tease her in front of the rest of the group; they were evil that way.

The more she though about it, the more it made sense. Mori or Honey would have asked her about it by now, Tamaki would have taken credit for it by now, and Kyouya wouldn't do something like that unless there was something in it for him. Now that she'd figured out the most likely candidates, how was she to proceed from here? It definitely had to be after the others had gone for the day; the twins didn't like teasing her as much if there wasn't an audience to be found.


	6. Was it the two of you?

"Hey Kaoru, Hikaru...wait up!" She had purposefully waited until everyone else had left the music room before speaking to the evil Hitachiin brothers. "What's up Haruhi?" For the mischievous plotters she knew them to be, they sure weren't acting sneaky. Surely by now they would both have that creepy grin on their faces if they were up to something. "I received a mysterious gift at my house after dinner with you all...know anything about it?" She waited for the grins, the comments, any kind of indication that they were the ones who had given her the gift.

"What are you talking about Haruhi?" Kaoru snaked around one side of her while Hikaru latched on to the other. "Yeah Haruhi, we didn't get you anything else...just the dress and the ...lingerie." The last part was whispered into her ear and she wondered if they were just playing dumb. "Come on, it had to have been you two." She looked back and forth between the two brothers hoping that they'd get tired of playing with her soon.

"Why does it have to be us?" Normally she didn't mind that they both spoke at the same time, but when they were latched on to either side of her like this it really made her dizzy. "Just because it seems like something you two would do." They started walking outside as a little group, but honestly this was something that they did so often that she didn't have to worry about tripping anymore; in fact, the three of them seemed to fall into step reflexively these days. "Ooooo, is it something erotic?" Hikaru nudged her arm playfully, but she wasn't enjoying their teasing right now.

"Come on guys, just admit it already." By now they'd reached the outside of their building and were steadily approaching the limo that was waiting to pick up the demon duo. "Really Haruhi, we didn't get you anything else." She looked Kaoru in the eyes and could tell he was being serious. They'd had their fun and teased her, but it was highly unlikely that the gift really was from them at this point. The two of them really took their jokes seriously and always took credit for their crimes; it wouldn't be like them to pass up an opportunity like this.

Great, she had just decided that it had to be the twins and ruled everyone else in the club out. Was it back to the drawing board now that she'd found out she'd been wrong? "Haruhi, what did the person get you anyway?" When she had frowned and got lost in her own little world after they denied giving her the gift, it upset both of the brothers. They both looked at each other and understood exactly what the other was thinking; somebody was playing with their toy...and they didn't like it.

Perhaps it was Mori senpai. He was quiet and usually only spoke when someone approached him about something. "Hey...Haruhi." It was the only alternate situation that made any sense. "Haruhi, are you paying attention to us?" Plus, he was perceptive and would have noticed that she wasn't feeling like her usual self today, so it was possible that he had left her alone and was just waiting for her to bring it up or something. "Hey Haruhi look, there's a man dressed as a pickle driving this way." Maybe she was just over-thinking this. "Haruhi, want some tuna?" She probably should have just asked the group as a whole earlier. The twins got tired of her not paying them any attention and decided to go for the one thing that was always assured victory. "Haruhi, if you don't answer us we're coming over to your house!"

"Huh? No, don't worry about coming over. Besides, I've got another test coming up tomorrow so I need to get in some good study time." The twins smiled at their small accomplishment, but they still wanted to know what the gift was. "Haruhi, what was the gift?" She looked back and forth between the two of them and wished she was a better liar.


	7. Corruption

"Haruhi, you look like you're enjoying yourself this evening." Kyouya smiled at her as she joined him on the balcony outside. The party was still going strong inside, but she had needed an escape from all of the people that wanted to dance with her. Plus, she was relishing the idea of the cold breeze outside. With so many people packed into that place, they didn't even need to turn the heaters on. She hadn't known that Kyouya would be out here too. Now here they were, alone. She contemplated going back inside, but that would have been too obvious to someone like him and she didn't want him to know that she'd been trying her hardest to ignore him lately.

"Kyouya senpai, what are you doing out here all alone? Shouldn't you be inside dancing?" She walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the scenery; it gave her a good excuse for not sitting down at the table with him. "I prefer the solitude out here. I'm better at organizing parties than actually participating in them." The scrape of his chair against the cement floor behind her was muted by the music playing inside, so she didn't realize that he'd stood to move beside her until she was able to see him out of her peripherals.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She had to agree with him. The moonlight filtering down on the sweet smelling gardens below was one of the most romantic settings she could remember seeing; it was right out of a fairy tale. She glanced over at him and watched as the cool breeze ruffled his hair. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have given his hair a second thought, but with the wind dancing through it like that she almost wished that she had the courage to reach out and feel it. She blushed a little at the thought, embarrassed by what a forward action that would be; but his hair looked so beautiful and silky in the moonlight.

Perhaps it was time for her to go back inside. All this romantic atmosphere was making her mind wander into areas that were better left alone; like how his lips would feel against hers. The thought alone sent shivers running down her spine. He must have noticed, because as she turned to look away he removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. "You're going to get cold if you continue to stay out here." She was glad that he'd turned his attention back to the view in front of them, because the slight flush earlier had nothing on the one currently spreading across her cheeks.

The jacket was too big, but it smelled good. Was this some sort of cologne that Kyouya used? It smelled slightly sweet, but it was definitely a masculine smell. To her mind, it smelled even better than the flowers below. The wind twirled around them and she could feel her dress as it pressed flat against her legs...wait, why was she wearing a dress? That couldn't be right.

_Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep_. She opened her eyes and saw the alarm clock warning her that it was time to get up and start the day. She was still tired and didn't want to get up, but she guessed it was her fault for staying up late and playing that stupid game again. She really needed to stop doing that if it was going to make her start fantasizing about that Ichijo Miyabi character like that.

Wait a second, that wasn't right. She hadn't dreamed about him at all! The person that she had been dreaming about was somebody real, somebody that she was in the same club with, somebody that she saw on an almost daily basis. She'd dreamed about Kyouya! About how soft his hair was and how good he smelled; about how it would be like to kiss him! What the hell was wrong with her! She needed to talk to Renge about this stupid game already because once she talked about it then she'd no longer have a reason to keep playing it. Maybe then, her dreams wouldn't be corrupted by inappropriate thoughts about one of her friends.


	8. The bed set

"Has anybody seen Renge lately? I was sure that she'd have been here to ask me a million questions about that game by now." She looked around at the other members of their little group and tried to avoid eye contact with Kyouya. Honestly, she was still a little embarrassed about the dream she had last night and even if she knew it was impossible, she was afraid that his perceptive gaze would be able to look through her eyes and see all that she'd dreamed.

"Game, what game Haruhi?" The twins both approached her and took their usual positions on either side of her. "Does it have anything to do with that erotic present that showed up at your house that you were telling us about?" Damn those loud mouthed demons! With the unsettling dream from last night she had completely forgotten about that. She had barely gotten away from them yesterday without revealing the gift, so of course they'd bring it up today.

"Erotic gift, what are you talking about? Who is giving my precious daughter erotic gifts? Daddy won't allow it!" Leave it to the twins to twist it all around. "It wasn't an erotic gift, stop twisting my words around!" She punched both of the twins in the back of their heads and had to yell over Tamaki's protests just to be heard. "Ouch, what did you do that for? You're the one saying how some mysterious gift made it's way to your house after dinner and refusing to tell people what exactly it is! It's not our fault that we came to the wrong conclusion!"

"So Haruhi, what is this mysterious gift exactly?" Kyouya had, for once, stopped typing on his laptop and looked completely interested in finding out all the details; no doubt so he could tuck the information away for later. By now six sets of eyes were all turned towards her and yet again she lamented her inability to lie convincingly. She sighed to herself and figured that she may as well just say it now; at least then she'd finally be able to figure out who it was from. "It was a bed set."

The twins immediately started laughing hysterically. "That was the present that you thought was our doing? Why would we give you a bed set?" She was starting to get really upset with these two. "If you can't think of a reason, then I'm not going to tell you!" By now, the two of them were literally floored and had tears coming out of their eyes. She was so happy they found all this amusing.

"Haruhi, tell me you didn't sleep in it! Daddy forbids you to sleep in a bed that some nasty boy gave you!" Tamaki was shaking her wildly by the shoulders and she was sorely tempted to hit somebody again. "Why Tamu-chan? What's so bad about Haru-chan sleeping in a new bed set?" Honey was perched on Mori's shoulders looking confused; for once Tamaki wasn't as oblivious she would have liked. "Because, don't you see! If a boy gave her a bed set then every time she went to bed she'd start to think about him!"

The Hitachiin brothers stopped laughing now and thought about it. "Oh, well when you put it that way it does sound like something we'd do." They both stood up and put an arm around her shoulders while Tamaki glared at them. "Haruhi, daddy needs to know who gave you such a bad present!" Was he seriously that stupid? "If I knew the answer to that, would I be asking Kaoru and Hikaru if they were the ones that gave it to me?"

Nobody seemed to have an answer to that, but nobody was stepping forward to admit to giving her the gift either. Was it that they didn't want to admit to it, or was it really from someone other than the host club? "By the way Haruhi, what game were you talking about earlier?"


	9. The lie

"Uki Doki Memorial; Renge gave me a copy of it for my birthday remember?" She didn't see how they could forget it because once Renge started going on about something it was bound to be a detailed explanation. "Oh yeah, I had almost forgot about that; isn't that the game that has Kyouya in it?" She started to wave her arms around in denial, "No Honey senpai it has a character that looks like him, but it's not really him remember? Renge was so upset when he didn't act like the character from the game right?"

With that, they proceeded to meet with their customers and Haruhi was able to breath easy for a bit. She'd never been happier to meet with all the ladies that she had appointments with than today. At least with them she didn't have to worry about avoiding questions about that stupid game. "So Haruhi, what are you plans for Valentine's Day?" Oh yeah, Valentine's Day was just around the corner wasn't it? "I'm not really sure ladies, it all depends on whether or not the host club will be sponsoring any events.

The club's activities finally came to a close and she was ready to bolt. She wasn't in the mood to talk about her gift anymore. "So Haruhi, have you been playing with me?" What the heck! "What are you talking about Kyouya senpai?" Yep, she was definitely nervous. "What's the character's name that looks like me?" Character that looked...oh, he was talking about the game! "Ichijo Miyabi is his name, and no...I didn't get him." She had to look away at that last part because if not then he'd probably be able to read the lie all over her face.

"So, which character did you get then?" Huh? Oh right, if she didn't get Ichijo Miyabi then she would have had to have gotten one of the other characters from the game...what were their names again? Um, wasn't one of them named Ichigo...something? "What does he look like?" Didn't he have dark hair? "Um, he's tall and has dark hair." Kyouya was still watching her, but he looked bored. "Is it perhaps Ikuto Amuto?"

Hm, the name sounded familiar, but she wasn't positive it was correct. However, considering the fact that Kyouya seemed to know just about everything, and he came up with the name after she described the character, that was probably his name. "Yeah, that's the one." She glanced over Kyouya's shoulder and realized that everyone besides the two of them had already left. She was alone, with Kyouya. He leaned down closer to where their faces were at eye level and smiled at her. "Haruhi, there is no character by that name in Uki Doki Memorial. In fact, Ikuto Amuto is the name of a character in the anime Shugo Chara."

_Thump thump...thump thump...thump thump_. She could feel her heart start to beat faster as what he said just sank in. Now that he said it, she realized it was true because Shugo Chara was one of the few shows that she'd actually watched. No wonder the name Ikuto sounded so familiar; he was her favorite character in the show! Crap, how was she going to talk her way out of lying to Kyouya? His facial expression still hadn't changed and he hadn't moved away from her either. He was just standing there smiling at her.

"Oh alright...yes, I'm going through Ichijo Miyabi's character." He straightened, but didn't say anything. He just kept standing there. She wasn't sure what she should say or what she should do, so she just stood there too. Just when she thought that she would explode from the weird tension in the air, he turned around and started walking away. "Oh, and Haruhi..." she cringed as she waited for him to continue whatever it was that he was about to say... "the host club will be sponsoring a Valentine's Day ball." Wait...what? Of all the things that she could have imagined him saying, that one was probably the most unexpected of all.


	10. Hot chocolate

Valentine's Day was tomorrow. So far, Kyouya hadn't behaved any differently towards her; it was almost as if their conversation had never happened. He may be able to act cool and calm about it, but now any time that she had to interact with him she remembered. She was embarrassed about him finding out, but more than that she felt guilty for lying to him. Why had she decided to lie to him anyway? Would it have been so bad for her to just admit it in the first place? She knew why she had done it. It was that strange dream that she'd had; it didn't excuse her actions though.

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Ryoji looked over at his little girl and it took him a second before nodding. He'd noticed that something was on her mind lately, but Haruhi seemed to always solve her own problems. For her to ask him was unexpected, and he would try his best to help her with whatever it was that was bothering her. "What is it Haruhi?"

"I don't know what to do. I lied to one of my friends about something stupid and he found out about it. He hasn't been acting differently, but every time I see him I'm nervous and I feel guilty. We don't speak about it, it's just sort of floating between us; unresolved. I don't want to feel agitated every time he's around me. What do I do?" She hung her head and didn't look her father in the eyes. It was even harder to do since he wasn't dressed up as "Ranka" today.

"Haruhi, is this one of the boys from the host club?" He waited until she nodded her head. He'd have to call Kyouya later and see what was going on. He could always rely on Kyouya to give her all the details, whereas his daughter only gave small tidbits. It didn't really matter who she was fighting with, his solution would be the same no matter who it was, but he wanted to know which member of the group his daughter was having problems with.

"Haruhi, would you mind going to the grocery store and picking some stuff up?" Haruhi looked over at her father and wondered if he was changing the subject on purpose. "It seems to me that chocolate is always a good way to say you're sorry. Plus, since it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, you should probably give some to all of your friends anyway. He smiled as his daughter seemed to think it over. She could see where it sort of made sense in a way. There was only one problem; Kyouya didn't like sweets.

She was making chocolate truffles for everyone. She had a package set out for each of the members of the host club and she was giving each person six truffles each. She had enough for Mori, Honey, Kaoru, Hikaru, Tamaki and her father. In fact, she already had them all chilling in the refrigerator to harden. Now, she was going to work on Kyouya's truffles.

She had thought about what her father had said earlier, but it just didn't seem to work with Kyouya not liking sweets. So, she looked into it and found some recipes for some spicy truffles and thought that she'd give it a try. The recipe made a dozen of them, so she'd have a few that she could taste to ensure that they weren't nasty.

They had all hardened and she was looking forward to tasting them. She liked spicy food herself, so she was looking forward to trying the spicy truffles. She brought some of them out and sat them on a saucer before turning around and getting a drink. She was so used to spicy food that she was pretty sure she wouldn't need one, but she grabbed some water out of the fridge just in case.

"Ranka" saw his daughter getting ready for a taste test and decided to snatch one off of the plate. Awww, he loved chocolate; it was always so sweet and yummy. He bit into the truffle and started to chew. This was not chocolate! "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" He grabbed the water from his daughter's hand and started to drink quickly. "I thought you were trying to apologize to Kyouya, not kill him!" Haruhi only laughed and tried one. He waited for her mouth to catch fire, but she only smiled and nodded her head. Poor Kyouya, he was going to have to give him a call later and warn him.


	11. Poisonous chocolate

Haruhi was expecting to give Valentine's chocolates, she hadn't been expecting to receive them! There were so many chocolates piling up in here that she didn't know what to do with them all. She'd never had to worry about this before because she'd always been on the opposite side of the fence, but with everyone assuming she was a boy...she really should have just stayed home today. This was probably even more embarrassing than the time when Tamaki pushed her into giving away her first kiss! Did she have to give them all something for White Day now?

The club duties felt like less of a strain today because of all of the ladies coming in to give chocolates to one or more of the hosts. After that was done, they were all gushing over the upcoming ball and what color dresses and shoes they were all wearing; not surprisingly, the majority of them were all wearing red dresses. When the ladies had all left and it was just her and the guys, she told them all to hang on a second before packing up for the day.

"Here you guys, I made you each some chocolates." She pulled out the containers and handed one to everyone. She made sure that each person got the correct color box because this way there could be no arguing over whose chocolates were whose. She'd put in a small note with each person's chocolates wishing them a Happy Valentine's Day. Only Kyouya's note was different; his also said "I'm sorry". Kyouya was a smart guy, he'd understand what she was talking about without her having to go into it.

Everyone started contemplating their boxes of chocolates, but she only had eyes for Kyouya. She saw him smile when he read her note and she hoped that meant that he was forgiving her. "Hey Haruhi, why does Kyouya's chocolates look different than ours does?" Hikaru and Kaoru were standing closest to Kyouya and apparently they'd noticed the slight color difference between their truffles and Kyouya's. "Well, that's because his are different than everyone else's."

She probably should have explained that better, because now everyone was looking at her with shocked expressions. She realized her mistake now and she blushed from head to toe. She'd just made it sound like she'd given Kyouya honmei-choco and everyone else had giri-choco. Maybe she should have made them all different and given everyone their favorites. "It's just that Kyouya senpai doesn't like sweets, so I made him some spicy chocolates."

Everyone seemed to relax a little by the end of her explanation, but Kyouya burst out laughing. "What's so funny senpai?" She didn't see how this situation was all that funny honestly. "Well you see, Ranka called me yesterday and told me not to eat the chocolates that you made for me because they were poisoned and would make me breath fire. He'd been in a hurry because he was leaving for work, so I hadn't been able to question him about it." With that, he picked up one of the truffles and popped it into his mouth; she was happy to see that the smile never faded.

Even though she was upset with her father for calling her truffles poisonous, she was happy with the way they turned out. They must have been pretty good because Kyouya ate all of them, except for the last one. That one he offered to Tamaki to try and she was sure he only did it to watch his reaction. Tamaki stuck it in his mouth, his smile faltered, his eyes watered, and then he ran from the room in search of some water. All in all, his reaction had been very similar to her father's; except that her father hadn't been as vocal in front of her about it.

________________________________________________________________**In case you are wondering, in Japan only girls give chocolates for Valentine's Day. Guys reciprocate on White Day. Giri-choco is called obligation chocolate because you give it to the people around you that are male friends or co-workers. Honmei-choco are chocolates that you would give to a crush or lover. If there are any more questions, let me know! **


	12. Haruhi's confession

**Hello all! I just wanted to give a great big thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! SarahNThatcher and 123Aqua123, thank you so much for the comments! A really big thank you goes out to Scherherazade! You've really given me the motivation to keep updating as often as I do! :-) I didn't just add in an author's note for thanks though...**

**Warning: This story will now become more serious as far as the physical aspect of relationships go. It was rated M for a reason. If you do not wish to find out why it was rated M, then this chapter will probably be the best possible stopping point for you! Thanks again!**

The Valentine's Day Ball was coming to a close. Thankfully, many girls brought their boyfriends and many single guys from the school also attended so she wouldn't be missed if she slipped away from it all. Slipping away from the dance made her remember her dream, but she was slipping into another room...not out onto a moon lit balcony. She smiled to herself thinking how odd it was to be going over her dream right now.

Kyouya saw her sneaking away from the party and decided to follow her. When she went into an unused classroom down the hall, he was reminded of the party they threw last year when Haruhi ended up giving away her first kiss. He followed her into the room and found her sitting in one of the desks, looking out the window. She must not have heard him come in, because she didn't turn around and she hadn't said anything. He walked over to where she was and he saw her stiffen as he got behind her.

She felt his presence; it was like a shadow was looming over her. She told herself she was being ridiculous and turned her head to convince herself that she was just imagining things, but lo and behold, he was right where she thought he'd be. "Kyouya senpai, what are you doing here?" Honestly, this was too coincidental for her tastes. It may not be a moon lit balcony, but they were at a dance, and they were alone. If any further parallels occurred then she was in big trouble.

"The truffles that you made were actually really good, thank you." She sighed to herself and figured that would be why he was here. He wanted an explanation for her behavior. Knowing Kyouya, he wouldn't press it, but she doubted that it would truly be fixed until she told him why. She turned away from him and stared out the window. It would be hard enough without looking him in the eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know why I lied about it. In fact, normally I wouldn't have." When she paused to search for the right words, he pulled a chair up beside hers and sat next to her. It made this seem like a more companionable chat and less intimidating; she was immediately grateful. "So why did you lie then?" His tone wasn't condemning, it was more gentle and understanding than she'd ever heard him be before. It gave her the courage she needed to tell him everything.

"I'm not like Renge. I know that you and the character in the game are different. You're personalities never will be the same. The problem is that the more I played the game, the more I would think about you. I think I was trying to categorize the differences between the two of you. I should have stopped playing when I noticed it, but I actually found myself enjoying the game, so I played it more and more often."

She swallowed before continuing, but she had started this and now she was going to finish it. "The night before you asked me about the character, I had played late into the night. I guess because his image was the last thing that I saw before I went to sleep, my mind pulled up that image in a dream. The thing is though, I didn't dream of him; I..." She had to take a fortifying breath to admit the next part, and she hoped that he wouldn't torment her for her honesty. "In my dream I found myself wondering what it would be like to kiss you. So when I saw you the next morning, I was so embarrassed that I overreacted."

She couldn't look at him. She was sure that if she did that she would die of shame. "Haruhi, we can't always control everything." She knew that. If she could control her dreams then she never would have been in this situation. "Well then Haruhi, would you like to find out? What it would be like, to kiss me?" He leaned closer towards her and her heart, which had already been beating double time from her admission, went into overdrive. Was he seriously offering to kiss her, or was this his way of making her pay? Even if he was serious about it, did she really want to take him up on his offer?


	13. First kiss

He noticed her indecision. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that meant that she was actually considering it. That was good enough for him, he'd given her more than enough time to say no. He reached out a hand and placed it on her cheek to turn her face fully towards him and before she could think about pulling away, he placed his lips on hers.

The second his lips hit hers she gasped in surprise. She was completely shocked because Kyouya was actually kissing her! Her reflexive gasp to his kiss, however, just left him with the opening he needed to deepen the kiss and he slowly licked his way further into her mouth. At first the shock of the experience kept her from kissing him back, but eventually she regained her senses. She knew that she should probably pull away and protest, but now that he had taken that first step she found herself wanting to return it; so she did.

He had expected her to pull away and slap him, but she didn't. When she tentatively licked at his own lips and started kissing him back he couldn't believe it. Just the knowledge that she'd never kissed another man before and that he was the first one...and that she was kissing him back...he pulled her closer and tried his hardest not to groan aloud. She tasted so sweet, but for once, he decided that he may just like sweet things.

He had deepened the kiss and Haruhi found that she was really enjoying it. Her eyes were shut tight, but she didn't remember closing them. This was nothing like the time she'd accidentally kissed that girl. She felt like she was falling out of control and that the entire world had ceased to exist. She was only there in that moment and nothing else beyond his lips on hers mattered. She could hear her heart beating madly in her ears and feel it jumping rapidly against her chest. She was so distracted, that she didn't hear or realize the soft mewling noises that were coming from her throat.

This had to stop now! He'd acted impulsively and decided to kiss her, but he'd only expected it to be a quick peck on the lips! This kiss was like fire in his veins and after just that small taste he found himself craving more and more. It was getting hard to breath, but it was also getting harder for him to find the strength to stop himself from taking more! Somehow, although he was still amazed that he'd found the will to stop, he managed to cool the kiss back down again and ended it with one last press against her sweet lips.

When he opened his eyes, her lips were still slightly parted and her eyes were still closed. The sight alone made him want to kiss her again. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand and slowly walk away from her. As he got to the door, he stopped and turned back around to look at her. She hadn't stood up, but she'd followed him with her eyes.

His voice was raspier than usual, but he felt like he could tell her now. "Well Haruhi, as long as we're being honest, I also have a confession to make." He paused slightly and placed his hand on the door knob. Perhaps it was cowardly, but he didn't want to stick around for too long after he admitted this. "The bed set was from me."

He saw her mouth open ever so slightly, but she didn't say anything. With that being said, he decided that it was time for him to return. He couldn't hear the music coming from the ballroom anymore and it made him wonder if he'd been in there longer than he'd thought. How long had he been kissing her? It had seemed like it had taken forever and was over in an instant all at the same time. At this point, the only thing that he was sure of was the fact that he was going to do it again; and again, and again, and again. Her indecision had been her greatest mistake, because she was his now. After all, an Ootori didn't give their first kiss to just anyone.


	14. Delusional

If she thought that she had been becoming more aware of Kyouya before, then she didn't know what she was becoming now. Ever since he'd kissed her that night she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. After the ball, she'd dreamed of him; so far she hadn't had a night since then where she didn't dream about him. She felt like she was going insane!

To make matters worse, half of her was wondering if she'd been delusional and had hallucinated the entire experience. Kyouya hadn't treated her any differently than when the school year had first started. Surely after kissing somebody you would act differently around them? She couldn't quite explain it, but she had thought that perhaps he was interested in her because of the kiss. However, from the way he was acting it seemed like he wasn't.

She'd always been honest with people, which is why she had decided to reveal everything to him in the first place. Since she'd told him and he'd kissed her, shouldn't it mean that he would want to date her? At first, she'd resolved herself to tell him that she wasn't ready to date anyone and hadn't been looking forward to hurting him, but now she was upset that he hadn't asked! What was wrong with her?

She finally decided that she couldn't take it anymore. After a week of waiting, she needed to know. "Kyouya senpai, can we talk?" She sat down next to him when he nodded his head. She waited for him to finish up what he was working on before starting. When he finished and turned to her, she almost wished that he would have just kept typing while listening to her.

She chided herself for her cowardice and decided to just get it over with. "Senpai, about Valentine's Day...why did you kiss me?" He pushed his glasses up before replying, "It seemed to be something you were interested in. Why, are you saying I shouldn't have kissed you?" Well at least this confirmed that she wasn't delusional. "Yes! No. I don't know!" He chuckled at her frustrated response. "Haruhi, it seems like there is some confusion on the subject. If that is the case, then let me help you decide." With that, he planted a quick kiss on her lips before closing his laptop.

That was the second time he'd kissed her! He had stood up, but she caught his arm before he could walk away. He stopped and turned towards her, but she didn't say anything. She stood and her mouth opened and closed, the words refusing to leave her mouth. How could she explain what she needed to say?

"Yes Haruhi?" She was still holding on to his arm even though he wasn't leaving anymore. Slowly, she was able to choke out her thoughts. "Senpai, that didn't help me decide." His eyes, which were always the color of steel, turned to molten metal at her words. He took a step back in her direction and her breathing quickened.

He had just leaned down to kiss her again when he heard the doors open. He immediately straightened and glared at the idiot who had just interrupted him; make that idiots. The Hitachiin brothers, now how was he going to keep them occupied and ensure that he and Haruhi had some time alone? Kyouya had been manipulating people for too long not to come up with an effective plan, and he knew just the right buttons to press as far as the host club was concerned. Now, if he could only find that idiot Tamaki then everything would be perfect. He'd send the host club on another project and have Haruhi all to himself for a while.


	15. Project distraction

The Hitachiin brothers entered the music room and saw Kyouya alone with Haruhi and the two of them were standing too close for their liking. Considering the fact that someone was messing with Haruhi and Kyouya was a master manipulator, it put them both on edge. Could Kyouya have been the one to send her the bed set? If so, then what purpose could he have for it? As they got closer, they realized that Haruhi was blushing. Hikaru wasn't as good at masking his anger as Kaoru was, so he ran over to the two of them. "Kyouya, what the hell were you doing to her?"

Kyouya merely smiled and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "In case you didn't know, Haruhi's grades dropped to where she is no longer the top student in her year. This is a violation of her scholarship with Ouran. She was just asking me if I'd tutor her, and I accepted." Kaoru walked over to them and placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder. "Why didn't you say something Haruhi?" Hikaru turned towards her and smiled, "Yeah, we could help you study!" Kyouya just smiled at their antics, "How do you figure that she'll get any benefit from studying with you? Aren't your grades inferior when compared to Haruhi's?"

They both growled at him, but they couldn't say much. Kyouya was a year ahead of Haruhi and he was the top student in his class. The twins looked like they were about to say more, but thankfully Tamaki and the others chose that moment to walk in. "Tamaki, just who I wanted to see." Kyouya walked over to the blonde man and explained what he had just told the two twins. Tamaki, of course, was just as upset about it as the twins.

"I don't think you guys get it. If Haru-chan's grades drop, then she won't be able to come back to Ouran next year. That means that we won't get to see her at all!" As usual, Honey was the one to shut up the others with a rational explanation. "Tamaki, there is something that I think you could do to help if you wanted." Considering the fact that they all wouldn't want for him to be tutoring her without them, he needed to throw in something for them to do so that they wouldn't try to interfere.

They all listened carefully to what he had to say. All it had taken was a few key phrases. "Whose fault was it that her grades weren't at the top in the first place?" The Hitachiin brothers both smiled evilly. They both knew the guy. He was the one that was always scared of creepy things. They guy they were trying to help out at Halloween. The former class president of 1-A, Kazukiyo Soga. "If he were to find something to take up his time other than studying, then his grades would drop and he wouldn't put as much pressure on Haruhi now would he?"

"All right gang, project distract Kazukiyo Soga will now officially begin!" Tamaki was trying to take over now, and the rest of the host club was getting into it. Perfect, everything was going according to plan. "Didn't he say that he had a crush on the vice president from last year? What was her name?" The twins were headed in the right direction, so Kyouya provided the information that they were looking for. "Her name is Momoka Kurakano."

Now that he'd gotten everything set up, he walked back over to Haruhi and grabbed her arm. "Let's go work on your grades, Haruhi." She glared at him, but remained silent about it all. She followed him outside and even got into his car when they went downstairs. She was silent during the drive, and even when they got to his house. She didn't say anything to him until they got to his room. "Kyouya senpai, what they hell was that all about!"


	16. Kyouya

She wasn't really angry. In fact, she was pretty sure that everything that he'd said, besides the part about her asking him for help, was true. Her grades had dropped and he would be the best person to turn to if she wanted help. She just didn't understand why he'd done it. "What is this all really about?"

He looked over at her and tried judging how she really felt. She had probably been embarrassed about him bringing her grades up in front of the others, but it wasn't like they didn't already know anyway. He stepped close to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's about this Haruhi." He couldn't explain it with words, so he decided to finish what he had started in the music room instead.

She faltered for a moment, but she understood what he was getting at. It would be hard for them to ever be alone if the others were always there. Hadn't she been the one to say that she was confused. Wasn't she the one that needed to figure out her feelings? Slowly, she slid her hands up his shoulders and tried to place herself fully into the kiss.

He didn't kiss her for long. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him kissing her and he was afraid that if he allowed the kiss to go on for to long that he'd lose control of himself. After he broke the contact though, he didn't step away from her. He kept his arms around her waist and just looked down into her eyes. He would wait and see what her response would be.

She felt cheated. She'd now been kissed three different times by the man and the second two weren't nearly as interesting as the first. Their first kiss had left her light headed, whereas the others just left a tingling feelings on her lips. She wanted him to kiss her the way he had the night of the ball. "Kyouya..." She lifted herself up on her tippy toes and pressed her mouth to his. She wasn't going to let him get away with being so stingy.

Well, this was certainly not the reaction he'd been expecting! When he felt her tongue licking at his lips his restraint snapped. He backed her towards the wall and held her there. His hands traveled from her hips up her back as he deepened the kiss. When she started to make those little mewling noises again, it sent an electric pulse through his entire body.

He felt her wobble slightly and picked her up to his height so that she wouldn't have to remain on her toes. He guided her legs and she wrapped them around his waist, too engrossed in their kiss to care about the position that it placed her in. This was more like it! This was the same feeling that she'd gotten from their first kiss!

She now had her fingers fisted in his hair; almost as if she was afraid that if she let go that he'd stop. It almost hurt to kiss him. She could feel some unknown heaviness in her chest and wondered if maybe he felt it too. She wasn't able to think clearly enough to try to explain it though. Was it normal to lose the ability to think from just kissing someone?

His hands started to undo the tie around her neck and unbutton the top of her shirt. Once he'd finished, he broke their kiss and bent his head down to her neck. "Kyouya!" She screamed his name as he nibbled on a tender spot somewhere between her neck and her shoulder. He continued to shower the area with attention until the spot developed a dark red color.

Just seeing his handy work made him want to purr with contentment. He'd marked her as his and even though he knew that she'd cover it up so that nobody could see it, he'd still know that it was there. He tried to catch his breath and calm down, but she wasn't making it easy on him. "Well Haruhi...did that help...or do you still need another demonstration?"

**___________________________________________________________ Dropping the honorific implies a high degree of intimacy and is reserved for one's lover, younger family members, and very close friends. For Haruhi to use his name with no honorific when she normally addresses him as Kyouya senpai indicates that there has been a change in their relationship. Just wanted to toss that out there for those of you who aren't familiar with Japanese honorifics! Lots of love!**


	17. Renge's return

When she got home, she decided to grab a bite to eat, shower, do her homework, and go to sleep; all in that order. When she undressed for her shower, she noticed the red mark on her neck and stared. "What the hell!" She got closer to the mirror to inspect it and groaned when she realized what had happened. She'd have to talk to him about it when they were at school tomorrow.

"Kyouya!" She slammed her hand down on the table he was sitting at and he looked up at her with a smile. "Hello Haruhi...how's your neck?" She looked around to see if anyone else had heard him and was relieved to find that everyone else was busy. "Keep your voice down!" He didn't look apologetic in the least. "I take it you're not happy about the hickey?" That was the understatement of the year and he knew it! "You seemed to enjoy it enough as I was giving it to you."

He stood up and leaned close to whisper in her ear. "I know I enjoyed giving it to you." He was so close to her that she could feel his warmth. That, coupled with the images filling her mind made a shiver run down her spine. It was true, she had definitely enjoyed getting it. "Haruhi."

He kept his eyes on the rest of the room to ensure that nobody was watching them before he placed a kiss on her cheek. "What are you doing! You can't do that with everyone else here!" He laughed at her because he cold tell that even though she'd admonished him for his behavior that she'd enjoyed it.

Kyouya was like that for the rest of the day. If they were all sitting around the table, he'd place his hand on her knee and rub her leg. It made her want to slap him, but if she was honest with herself then she'd have to admit that she was enjoying it. It was like some sort of dangerous game that only the two of them knew about. They both knew that if anyone else saw that it would mean trouble, but for some reason it only made it that much more exciting.

When he started traveling higher and higher up her leg she felt like the entire room would notice her heavy breathing. She placed her hand on his to try to signal for him to stop, but he simply entwined their fingers together and continued; all the while writing in his folder.

She started getting way to worked up. She could feel a warmth between her legs and it made her want to squirm in her chair. He seemed to catch on that she needed a break, because he finally let go of her. She immediately went to the restroom to cool down a little. Just being close to Kyouya was making her want to kiss him again! She took out her handkerchief and cooled her face off before returning to the music room. When she got back, she saw a face that she had started to forget about. "Renge!"

She looked terrible! Her hair was frizzy, she had dark circles under her eyes, and she was paler than she remembered. "Where have you been?" Renge turned around and smiled at her. "Haruhi! Did you play the game I gave you? Did you like it? If you liked it then I know the perfect game for you to get next! Uki Doki Memorial II! They still haven't released it yet, but my father was able to use his connections to get me a copy right after your birthday! I've been playing through it non-stop! It's so much better than the last one."

She didn't quite know what to say to that. Sure, she'd played it for a few hours at first, but it couldn't be healthy to play as much as Renge did. They talked for a bit about the game and Renge was disappointed to hear that she hadn't even gotten through half of Ichijo Miyabi's storyline. Actually, talking with Renge made her realize that she hadn't been playing it anymore. She'd stopped playing the game the same day that Kyouya had kissed her.


	18. Yoshio Ootori

Kyouya was actually helping her study. For some reason, when he'd said that she should start coming to his house after school each day, she'd thought that he had only said it so that they could spend some time alone together. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised her. Kyouya was always so responsible. She hadn't thought that she'd really learn much from his tutelage, but she'd been wrong. He'd shown her a more effective way of keeping notes and even helped her out by practicing her English with her. It was fun to have a verbal conversation with him that way and it helped her to understand the language that much more.

He would always look over her work when she was finished with it to ensure that there weren't any errors. On the odd occasion that she happened to make a mistake he would point it out to her and tell her how to correct it. The best part about it was that each time she went through an assignment without him finding a single error, he'd reward her with a kiss. Considering the fact that she was already a top student and made very few mistakes, it meant that she received quite a few kisses.

That, more than anything else, was probably the reason that she was improving. She actually looked forward to doing her homework now instead of it just being something that she needed to finish. She was even getting into the habit of doing her reading assignments over at his house because he'd kiss her when she finished the assignment. They spoke to each other very little while they worked, unless they were studying English; then it would be endless chatter.

His father came into the room one day during one of their English study sessions and just watched them for awhile. She hadn't known that he'd join their conversation, but that's exactly what he did. It had surprised her at first because she hadn't been expecting it, but in the end, the three of them were sitting down talking about the weather, school, and what she had planned for her future like it was something that they did every day.

She hadn't expected to have so much fun talking with Kyouya and his father. All she remembered of Yoshio Ootori was that one time when he'd slapped Kyouya towards the end of the school year. She hadn't thought that she'd get along with the man after that, but he seemed pleasant enough at the moment. She was happy to see that the two of them were able to sit down and chat; even if the majority of the conversation did seem to center around her.

Yoshio Ootori was not a man to just sit down and talk with his son and his friends. He knew that Kyouya had been inviting a friend over from school everyday and was supposedly studying, but he hadn't believed it. He had wanted to get down to the bottom of it tonight. He hadn't known that the "friend" that was coming over was the scholarship student from Ouran.

It pleased him very much to see the easy camaraderie between the two of them and if studying was what it took for the two of them to get closer, then he'd support it to the best of his ability. He prided himself on being a good judge of character, and he liked this Haruhi Fujioka. She didn't have the impressive background that many of the girls at the academy possessed, but she had intelligence and a backbone. He hadn't yet told his son about it, but he had already had a conversation with his rival Yuzuru Suoh; he wanted Kyouya and this girl to marry.

After about an hour or so, he invited her to stay for dinner. In his opinion, the more time she spent around this family, the better. Kyouya wasn't stupid. His father wasn't the type to show any interest in his friends and he rarely invited anyone to stay for dinner unless it had something to do with business. He was going to have to sit down with his father one of these days and figure out exactly what was going on inside that head of his.


	19. The storm

Kyouya dropped her off, but this time he followed her into her apartment. Even though they had never officially become a couple, it was understood that they were dating; even if they were keeping it a secret from everyone. He hadn't told her yet, but he was going to be spending the night tonight. He'd checked the weather earlier and found that they were going to be having thunderstorms all throughout the night. He'd been concerned because he knew how much she hated to be alone during those times. So, he'd called Ranka and asked whether or not he was working tonight.

After finding out that Ranka did indeed have work tonight, Kyouya asked him for permission to stay over. Considering the fact that Kyouya was always keeping in contact with him, Ranka trusted him enough to stay over to help his daughter. While he understood that it was risky to let a young man spend the night alone with his daughter, he also knew that it was hard on her to be alone in that weather.

"Kyouya, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. How did you manage to get into my room to put the bed set in there in the first place? The apartment is always locked up." Honestly, he was surprised it had taken her this long to ask him. He was sure that she would have asked that question back when he had first revealed to her that he was the one who had given her the gift. He pulled out his keys and flipped to the one that he needed. "With this."

Obviously, she wasn't satisfied with the answer, so he decided to give her the whole story. "You see, I knew that you didn't want everyone fussing over your birthday. So, I asked Ranka what he thought that you would like. When I said that I didn't want you knowing who it was from because I was sure that you wouldn't accept it, your father gave me a copy of his key so that I could place it in your room without your knowledge. If you'll recall, I left earlier than everyone else from dinner; it gave me enough time to put it all together.

"Kyouya, what did you do with MY sheets?" He just smiled at her. There was no way that he was going to reveal the location of her old bed set; she'd probably start using them again. It's not like he'd done anything to them, he'd just tossed them in Ranka's room and her father had been kind enough to hide them from there. "I'm not telling."

She tackled him and tried her best to tickle him. Unfortunately, this was the first time she'd ever attempted it and therefore had absolutely no idea where or if he was ticklish. "Haruhi, what are you doing?" When she noticed that he wasn't laughing, she punched him. "You're no fun!"

That was when the first flash of lightening came crashing down. He noticed the difference in her body immediately. All of her muscled stiffened and her eyes widened. "Haruhi." He grabbed her hand and started to lead her towards her bedroom. She didn't fight him, but every time the thunder would rumble she'd pause mid-step and she'd stumble against him.

He sat her on the bed and removed her jacket and tie for her. He returned to her side and helped her get into bed. "Do you need anything Haruhi? How do you normally get through this?" She smiled up at him and grabbed his hand, but she didn't say anything.

When the storm started getting worse, so did her reactions. He sat down on the edge of her bed and had her roll over to lie on her stomach. He didn't know how much it would help, but he started rubbing her back. He hated seeing her like this. "Kyouya...hold me."

________________________________________________________________**So, I was thinking that for the next chapter I would add a little bit of citrus. I've never written a lemon (or lime although I don't really know the difference between the two) before, so I'm slightly apprehensive about doing so. Also, I'm not quite sure how graphic it's allowed to be without it violating the rules for the site. Let me know what you all think! Should the story get a little spray of citrus?**


	20. I think I love you

He took off his jacket and tie and placed them next to hers before coming back to the bed and wrapping his arms around her. He wanted to try to take her mind off of the storm. "Haruhi, when should we let the others know about us?" Sneaking around behind everyone's backs had been fun, but he finally wanted to let the host club in on their little secret. He was starting to get moody every time the twins got too personal with her or Tamaki got too protective of her.

She rolled over to face him and looked deep into his eyes. He actually wanted the others to know! Part of her found the idea distressing because she knew that meant that everything would change, but another part of her felt special by just the idea of it. Sure they wouldn't be able to tell the whole school because everyone still thought that she was a boy, but maybe they wouldn't have to act so detached in front of their friends. "Whenever you want to...senpai."

He'd been half afraid that she'd refuse so he was quite happy when she'd agreed so readily. His happiness was short lived because a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the house and the lightening lit up the room. She flinched against him and hid her face in his chest.

"Hey Haruhi, doesn't this remind you of that time on the beach when you came to my room?" He remembered that night fondly. She always had been able to see right through him. She'd called him on his bluff and hadn't been afraid of him at all. "No, you still have your glasses and shirt on." His mischievous side just couldn't stand still. He took off his glasses and placed them on her bedside table. Then he pulled his shirt up over his head and let it fall to the floor. "Alright, now does it remind you of that time at the beach?"

She touched his chest and ran her fingers down his stomach. He sucked in his breath at the action, but he didn't stop her. "No, you had me pinned down at the beach." He rolled her onto her back and leaned over her just as he had at the beach. He even kicked off his socks so that there couldn't be any other difference that she could claim. "Is this better?"

She nodded her head no and he was confused. What other difference was there? "Back then, I wasn't wearing pants." He hesitated a moment before moving his hand to her waist. She didn't stop him as he worked them down and tossed them to the floor. He leaned back over her again and he leaned down to kiss her. At that moment, the lightening hit so close that the house was pitched into darkness. Apparently, they'd lost power.

He realized that it must have frightened her, but she didn't react as badly while she was kissing him. He stopped to unbutton a few of her shirt buttons so that he could reach her neck. She'd be pissed at him in the morning, but it would be worth it. "Kyouya!" She arched her back when he grazed the area with his teeth. No matter what she said, he could tell that she loved it.

She started running her hands down his back and he had to suppress a groan. The skin on skin contact was so much more intense. Lightening struck again and she pushed him away from her. Maybe he hadn't been distracting her as much as he thought he had. She'd sat up and was shuffling around, but with the room now dark again, he couldn't make out what she was doing. "Haruhi..." he hadn't meant to upset her. How did you apologize for something like this?

"Kyouya...I wasn't wearing a shirt at the beach either." As her words sunk in, he felt her reach out towards his direction. Her hand landed on his shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him. He was able to feel the soft material of her camisole as it rubbed against his chest. He knew that this had started off just like any other time they'd kissed, but it had escalated into so much more so quickly. He didn't know if he could stand kissing her knowing that she was wearing next to nothing.

"Haruhi...I don't..." She cut him off with a kiss. For a minute, he found it hard to breath. He wrapped his arms tight around her and tried to keep his hands as much to himself as possible. "Kyouya, I think I may be falling in love with you." Just like that, his restraint snapped.

**___________________________________________________________ I decided to add in the little citrus bit after all. I thought long and hard before coming to the decision, but I think some of you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Thanks to all who gave me their opinions on the subject! I've also finished writing the story and unfortunately, that means we're nearing the end! Only seven chapters to go now!**


	21. Exploration

He couldn't speak. It was almost as if the air had been knocked right out of him. An animalistic growl left his throat as he claimed her mouth with his own. He'd only ever fantasized about her saying that she loved him. So to hear those words uttered while he was awake... it was more powerful than he'd ever imagined. He'd never tire of the way she tasted; never.

His hands took on a mind of their own; he had to touch her. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't see her body, but his hands became animated, whatever the reason. She gasped when he pushed her back down to the bed and then tried not to scream as his mouth found her neck again. His free hand slid down her neck to her chest and he teased her through the silky fabric resting there.

Her chest wasn't big by any standards, but what she had was able to fill his hand, and that was plenty enough for him. He smiled when she arched her back pressing herself fully into his palm. It was like her body was demanding that he touch her, and he wasn't going to argue. In fact, he wanted to explore every part of her body.

He kissed her again before deciding to let his hand continue the exploration of her body. His hand lead a trail down her stomach to her underwear. His finger hooked under the band and he let his finger trail back and forth along the top lining. His mouth atop hers muffled the noises she made, but it didn't completely stop them.

He let his finger travel further down with each passing stroke. She wiggled beneath his touch, but she didn't try to stop him. He should have restrained himself, but he didn't. He was too selfish not to take advantage of the situation he'd found himself in. He placed his finger even further down and couldn't help the grin that lit his face upon finding the wetness there.

He moved his finger up slowly and she almost shot off the bed as he found the little part of her he'd been looking for. "Kyouya...what...?" She gasped as he flicked the small nub again. "Do you like this Haruhi?" Even in the darkness he was able to tell her answer. She didn't confirm it verbally, but when she nodded her head he was able to make out the movement.

He may not have had sex before, but he'd studied it enough to know the ins and outs of the process; what eighteen year old boy hadn't? He wanted to show her that he wanted her; that he loved her. With that thought wedged firmly into his thoughts, he brought his mouth back down to hers and started to kiss her again, his only concern now was ensuring that she fully enjoyed this.

Her breath was coming out in little pants and her left hand was twisted in the sheets. Her right arm was snaked around his body and took turns between grabbing him by the back of his head or running her nails down his back. He didn't even think she knew she was doing it. She probably only meant to rub his back, but the pent up pressure her body was under made her actions more tense than usual.

Once he felt her start to tremble, he knew that she was close to finding satisfaction. He couldn't help the surge of pride he felt from the knowledge that he'd be the first to bring her over the edge. The trembling intensified and her body stiffened before she screamed out his name; then she lay, exhausted, into his embrace.


	22. Aftermath

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead as she drifted off to sleep. He was tempted to stay here cuddling with her all night, but her father would probably kill him. For a minute or so he just waited, not only so that he would calm down, but also because he was fascinated by her slow, steady breathing. As the minutes ticked by, however, he started to realize just what he'd done.

It wasn't that he regretted it exactly, but he almost felt as if he'd taken advantage of her while she was vulnerable. He hoped that she didn't come to regret it. Slowly, so as not to wake her, he got out of the bed and felt around for his clothing. He had to use his cell phone for a light since the power was still out. He separated his clothing from hers and placed them in two piles. He'd need to be dressed and sleeping in the other room before Ranka came home.

When the lights came back on, he jumped up and turned them off as quickly as he could. He didn't want to wake her just yet. He grabbed his pile of clothing and went to the living room. He placed his jacket and tie on the table there and laid a blanket down to serve as a makeshift bed.

He hadn't been expecting for the two of them to be so intimate so soon and as a result was unprepared for the emotions flowing through him. He hadn't been thinking straight or he wouldn't have forced it. What if as a result of tonight she started to hate him? He knew that her body had enjoyed it, but had he pushed too hard on her emotionally? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Oh well, there wasn't much that he could do about it right now. He was sure that there would be enough time for them to talk about it later.

After cleaning up and putting his shirt back on, he decided to try to find her some pajamas. Honestly, he didn't even know where to begin searching. He flicked on the light, hoping that she'd be able to remain asleep as he searched. She had a dresser off to the side and was lucky enough to open the drawer that he needed on the first try. He pulled out something for her and wondered if he'd be able to dress her without waking her up.

He lifted the covers and even though he tried not to be aroused by the site, it was impossible. She was lying there with her silky white camisole pulled up slightly on one side. It had only ridden up to show about half of her stomach, but it still affected him. He decided then and there that if they ever went on another summer vacation and she had to wear a bathing suit that he would forbid her to wear a bikini. It wouldn't be fair to the male population at all!

He decided to attempt to dress her, but she woke up before he could even fully lift her head off of the pillow. "Kyouya, what are you doing?" He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss upon her forehead. "I was trying to let you sleep, but you need to put some clothes on before your father gets home." Since she was at least half awake, he'd let her take care of it. So, he went back out to the living room to go to sleep; he was out not five minutes after his head hit the pillow.

When Ranka got home, he was only mildly surprised to find the two of them fast asleep on the living room floor. Even though they had separate covers and pillows, it seemed like they'd just gravitated towards one another. Haruhi was snuggled into Kyouya's chest and his arms were wrapped protectively around her. Kyouya was lucky that he liked him so much, otherwise he'd have found himself thrown into the wall like he'd done to Tamaki when he'd found her on top of his daughter the first day he'd met them all.

However, knowing how much of a cuddler his daughter was, it was probably her fault in the first place. She'd probably gotten out of bed and came to sleep beside him just for the comfort of his presence. He thought that she'd grown out of it, but storms always did make her revert back to a child. He tiptoed past them and decided that he wouldn't say anything. Besides, wouldn't it be nice if the two of them fell in love over something like this?


	23. Morning bliss

Haruhi woke up and found herself trapped against Kyouya's chest. She tried to pull away, but his arms kept her prisoner. She didn't want to wake him, but she didn't want to risk getting caught either. She wiggled, but it seemed like he wasn't going to budge no matter what she did. She started to push on his chest and he mumbled something in his sleep. She pushed again only to find herself pinned down by a very irate looking Kyouya. Well, apparently he wasn't labeled the low blood pressure evil lord for nothing! Then, without so much as a good morning, he leaned down and kissed her before rolling back over to go back to sleep.

What exactly had that been all about? From the way the host club made it sound, Kyouya was supposed to be extremely scary when he was forced to get up early. Sure, he'd been a little grumpy, but that wasn't the impressive display of evil that she'd been expecting. It may have started out that way, but honestly she'd seen worse from her father when she'd had to wake him up and he'd had a hangover. Oh well, for now she'd simply get ready for the day.

She got up to go to her bedroom for a change of clothes. She also brought her pillow and covers back to her bed. After making the bed, she noticed that Kyouya's glasses were still on her nightstand. If her father woke up and Kyouya didn't have his glasses then it would look suspicious. If, upon further investigation, they were found in her room...she quickly grabbed the glasses and shoved them in her pocket.

When she left her room, she tried to walk as casually as possible to the pile with his clothes and put his glasses amongst the pile. She decided to slip them into his jacket pocket, just to be on the safe side. Her mission accomplished, she decided to start making breakfast. Whether Kyouya was used to rich foods or not, an omelet was an omelet no matter who made it. She made one for the three of them and set the platters on the table. She didn't know if her father would be waking up anytime soon, but she liked to have something made for him just in case. If he didn't wake up by the time she was finished then she'd leave it in the fridge for him like she usually did.

Hm, Kyouya had gone back to sleep. How should she wake him up? She peered in the direction of her father's room and deemed it safe enough to try a little experiment. "Kyouya, wake up." She whispered in his ear and then added a little nibbling to the area as well. When he didn't immediately get up, she decided to kiss a trail down his jaw to his lips. By the time she got to his mouth he was kissing her back and she had to smile at her success. She pulled away and his eyes opened. "Good morning sleepy head!"

As Kyouya sat up, realizing that he was in a good mood for once upon waking, he decided that waking up next to Haruhi every morning would be good for him. It would probably put less stress on everyone else that he had to deal with in the morning as well. "Kyouya, what do you normally drink with your breakfast? We've got some orange juice if you'd like."

When he nodded she got up to fix them both a glass and came back to sit and eat breakfast with him. She didn't chatter on about stupid things, she just sat there beside him and he found that he enjoyed being next to her. It was just like when they were working. Just her presence seemed to do wonderful things to his mood and he was finding it harder and harder to look forward to any day that he wasn't able to share with her.

"Kyouya, you're looking at me funny. Do I have something on my face or something?" He laughed at her and started to eat his breakfast. He waited until she had just started sipping on her orange juice to mention the lovely red mark on her neck. She choked when she caught his meaning, then she ran to her room and changed shirts before coming back and glaring at him.


	24. The proposition

Her father had joined them before they'd finished their meal. Kyouya had started to put his socks back on when her father made a comment about how different Kyouya looked without his glasses on. She almost choked on her orange juice again at that point. Crap, she had forgotten to tell Kyouya that she'd put them in his jacket pocket!

Thankfully, when he he picked up his jacket, he saw them starting to slip out before they fell to the floor. His driver had been instructed to pick him up by nine, so they didn't have much time to talk before he had to leave. He had wanted to talk to her about the night before, but was unable to do so with her father there. He decided that he'd give her a call as soon as he got home.

Kyouya called her almost as soon as he got in. When she didn't start talking to him with the same easy conversation that he'd become so accustomed to, it started to worry him. Was it because she had started to remember last night and was upset with him? "Haruhi, I wanted to talk about last night. I shouldn't have..."

When he didn't immediately continue, she started to get nervous. Was he trying to say that he regretted it? The thought hurt her more than she thought it would. "What about it?" It had been awkward and embarrassing, but she wouldn't change the fact that it had happened. In fact, she'd decided it was a good thing...that is until he'd stopped talking; now he was just making her nervous.

"I apologize, it seems as if my presence is needed. I will have to call you back at a later time." He hoped that she didn't take his getting off the phone with her in such a rush the wrong way. He had stopped talking the minute his father had entered and stood waiting across from him. It didn't look like he'd had any intention of moving, and so Kyouya had instantly set out to make it seem as if the call hadn't been important. He didn't want his father to know that it was Haruhi on the phone.

"Kyouya, I've been needing to speak with you about a very important subject." His father sat down across from him and lowered his chin onto his hands. He knew that stance, it didn't bode well for whomever it was directed at; and right now that just happened to be him. "Of course father, what did you need?"

"What if I were to tell you that there was a way to ensure your position as my successor? That no matter what your brothers did, it could never outweigh this one action?" Something that would ensure that he was named the Ootori successor? He was already in a good position as it was having bought Ootori medical out from under his father, but to be a full successor still wasn't in his grasp just yet. He'd have to be a fool not to leap at the opportunity, however, knowing his father there had to be some kind of catch involved.

"If there was such a thing, then I would wonder what it is that you think I can do that my brothers are not capable of doing." Considering the fact that his brothers had always been able to meet whatever standards their father had for them, it didn't seem possible for him to have something that they weren't talented enough for.

"It's not that they wouldn't be talented enough for something like this, it's just that since you're already friends with her, I thought that I'd tell you about it first." Her? "It involves a certain woman...the scholarship student from Ouran, Haruhi Fujioka."


	25. Kyouya gets angry

Kyouya was not one to loose his cool easily. He was taught to never show emotions in front of his enemies because they would use whatever they found against you. However, he was having the most difficult time in his life at this very moment. When his father had first said her name he had been filled with an overpowering sense of dread, followed by an overwhelming surge of anger.

How had his father figured it out? Surely he couldn't have discovered their relationship based on the simple fact that they'd started studying together. Had his father had him followed? The implications were far too great and even though he'd told himself there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to gain his father's approval, he wouldn't let him use her this way.

He stood up and looked down at his father. "Father, there are many things that I would do for this family and for this company, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to keep her out of this." He'd probably just hurt his chances of being a successor, but he didn't care. He'd find another way to make it in this world.

Kyouya got to the door and started to leave when his father's next words stopped him dead in his tracks. "That's a shame then, because I'm sure your brothers will have no problems with handling the same task." His rage was barely held in check. He wouldn't allow it. His eyes narrowed at the back of his father's head, but he returned to his chair and sat back down.

"What do you want with her?" He couldn't quite mask the anger in his voice as he asked his father to explain the situation more fully. "It's quite simple really. You see, I find that I rather like Mrs. Fujioka. I want her to be a part of this family... one way or the other."

Kyouya froze in his chair. It was as if his greatest dream and his darkest nightmare had just violently collided to form his reality. He'd already been thinking that spending each morning waking up to her smile would be like heaven, but for his father to use her love as a bargaining chip was born from hell! If Haruhi ever found out then she'd hate him! She'd accuse him of marrying her only for the family position that it would ensure him and he couldn't have that!

However, he didn't want either one of his brothers marrying her either. He didn't want either of his brothers within ten feet of Haruhi! His oldest brother was only five years older than he was and his middle brother only three years older. Neither one was too old to date Haruhi and with the company as bait he was sure they'd rush to do their father's bidding!

"Stop messing around!" The neat pile of paperwork that had been on the desk in front of him scattered to the floor. "I'm warning you father, don't push this! Ask anything else, but leave Haruhi alone! I won't let you use her as a pawn in one of your games! She deserves better than that!" He was too upset to care at this point. He needed to see her, to tell her what his father was planning. To warn her that his brothers would only want to use her for what she'd bring them. One way or another, he'd put a stop to his father's scheming this time; even if it meant things got ugly.

Kyouya had left in such a hurry that he never got to see the smile that stretched across his father's face. Ah, it was good to know that he was still able to play the game. He wondered how long it would take. He called up his rival and told him to prepare to lose; he couldn't help gloating just a little bit. After all, his victory was practically assured now.


	26. The warning

Kyouya didn't bother finding a driver; he had a license and he'd drive himself. He didn't give a damn that it was raining out or that he was in too foul of a temper to drive. He was an Ootori dammit! A hurricane couldn't stop him from reaching her right now.

The tires squealed on the wet pavement as he parked outside her apartment complex. He hadn't bothered with an umbrella, the rain didn't matter to him. He took the stairs three at a time and when he got to her door he let out some of his anger and frustration on it.

"Kyouya!" As soon as she opened the door he rushed past her and started to pace. Haruhi just looked at him like he'd gone insane. She shut the door and tried to figure out what had gotten him, of all people, so worked up. She'd never seen him like this before. He was the one that always stood calmly in the background; no matter what was happening.

"Haruhi, promise me that you'll never let my brothers step a foot in this place." Huh? What the hell was he talking about now? "Promise me!" She didn't quite understand why he seemed so upset about it, but if that's all it took to calm him down then she had no problems agreeing to it. "Alright, I promise; now will you please calm down and tell me what this is all about?"

He didn't sit down and calmly explain everything like she thought he would. Instead, he grabbed her and held her to him tightly. "Kyouya, I need to breath." Honestly, that hug rivaled one of Tamaki's!

He loosened his hold on her, but he didn't release her. "While I was on the phone with you earlier, my father walked into the room." Was that the reason why he'd been so formal all of a sudden? It certainly made sense. "As soon as I got off the phone with you, he told me that he liked you."

She didn't see how this would upset him so far, so she waited for him to continue. "He informed me that he liked you so much that he wanted you as a part of the family...one way or the other." He kissed the top of her head and was rubbing her shoulders now. She wanted to ask what he meant by all of that, but she knew that he'd tell her all of it eventually. Asking questions now would only rile him up even more than he already was.

"He told me he'd make me successor to the Ootori empire if I agreed to marry you. I told him to leave you out of it." His grip tightened on her again. "Then he told me that he planned on making the same offer to my brothers." She could feel his breathing quickening again and she knew that thinking about it was only upsetting him.

"And you ran over here to warn me?" He nodded and she knocked him upside the back of his head. "What the hell was that for!" Haruhi didn't normally hit him, so for her to do it now simply because he'd come to tell her upset him. "You're such an idiot Kyouya." He looked into her smiling face and he was completely and utterly confused. "What makes you think that your brothers stand a chance against you now? They could try to charm me, but I'm already in love with you right?"

"Plus, since we've been dating even before your father ever mentioned this, so I know that you actually care about me and wouldn't want me just for what it would get you. So what's to stop you from taking your father up on his offer?" He was shocked, plain and simple. Of all the reactions he could have imagined, this scenario hadn't entered his brain once. "Wait a minute, are you saying that you'll marry me?"

"Not right now, but you may have a possible chance in the future." She smiled up at him and stood on her tip toes to deliver a swift kiss to his nose. "Besides, you're just trying to get out of proposing and it's not going to happen." She poked him in the side of the ribs and he flinched. "I fully expect for you to go down on one knee in the middle of a restaurant just like you always see in the movies!" The playful smile she sent his way, coupled with the laughter let him know she was just teasing him, but he tucked the information away for later...just in case.


	27. The end

_**Three years later**_

Valentine's Day was one of busiest days of the year for restaurants, but getting a reservation wasn't hard when your last name was Ootori. He looked across the table at his beautiful girlfriend. Even if they'd never made if official by any means, Kyouya considered this to be the day that they first started dating. It had all started with a passionate kiss in a darkened classroom, and he'd made sure that each Valentine's Day since that they'd spent together.

"Kyouya, why are Honey senpai and Mori senpai dressed as waiters?" He snapped his head around and looked where her eyes were focused. Sure enough, the two of them were standing off to the side looking as out of place as usual. He was going to have to kill Tamaki for this! No doubt this was another "project" of theirs. "I'm honestly not sure."

He tried his best to ignore them, but soon his eyes picked up on the others as well. They were all trying their best to hide from view and in the process only ended up sticking out like sore thumbs. You'd think by now they'd be a little bit better at reconnaissance, but if it was obvious enough for Haruhi to pick up on when she was oblivious to things like that then they had to be the worst to ever attempt it. Well maybe not, she hadn't noticed the others yet.

Their waiter, a not very well disguised Tamaki, brought their orders out to them. When it looked like Tamaki was going to open his mouth and actually _TALK_ Kyouya gave him a glare that had him scurrying off in the other direction. Geez, here he thought they'd be too busy to annoy him today! Apparently, he'd been wrong. It was all his fault anyway for letting them find out where they were going tonight.

They'd finished eating dinner and started talking about projects that they were both working on. Haruhi was working towards becoming a lawyer and he was attempting to earn a degree in both medicine and business. Luckily, they were both going to classes at Ouran, so they were able to see each other with as much frequency as they had in high school. Once she'd started university, however, he'd insisted that she stop hosting and start living her life as a girl again. She hadn't minded too much, but she'd made him pay for the commanding tone he'd used with her that night...and he'd enjoyed every bit of the torture she'd inflicted.

When there was a break in the conversation, he decided that now was the perfect time. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood up. Before she could say anything, he bent down on one knee in front of her chair. "Kyouya, you'd better not be doing what I think you're doing!" She'd said it quietly, but her face was turning the darkest shade of red he'd ever seen on her. "But Haruhi, you're the one that said you expected me to go down on one knee...just like in the movies right?" He pulled out the little box he had tucked away in his pocket and opened the lid to reveal the sparkling diamond band inside.

By now the entire room was looking over at their table. It was the most romantic day of the year, so most of the dinners were couples themselves. Each one of them looked over at the red faced woman and the man bent down on one knee and waited for her answer with baited breath. The room grew so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"Haruhi Fujioka, I love you more than words could ever describe. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He smiled up at her and waited for her reply. Tears had started to gather at the corners of her eyes and she'd lost the ability to speak, so she just smiled and nodded yes. The entire room let out its collective breath and happy couples cheered for the newly engaged pair. He took her hand and kissed it as he slipped the ring on her finger; a perfect fit, of course. This just seemed to embarrass her further, but he knew she enjoyed it.

When he looked back over to where the host members had gathered, he could see them all silently cheering him on. He almost decided to let them believe that he hadn't noticed the video camera that had been filming the entire thing...almost. However, he would take care of that another day. Tonight, he fully intended to shower his new fiancee' with all the attention he could.

When the room finally went back to normal and everyone went back to their dinners, she whispered over to him, "You do know that I'm going to make you pay for this don't you?" He merely laughed at her threat. "I'm looking forward to it my love." He smiled and reached across the table to grab her hand in his. In fact, he pulled her up from her chair and decided to make a hasty retreat to the limo waiting below.

As he passed by Tamaki and the gang, he informed them that he'd be generous and allow them to pay for his and Haruhi's meal as punishment for spying on them. The twins growled at him, but Mori and Honey held them back. Tamaki simply smiled, pleased to see his best friend looking so happy. He couldn't imagine a better man for his "daughter".

Kyouya looked over at his sleeping fiancee' and smiled. Her "punishment" had been rather enjoyable after all. For maybe the first time in his life, he was truly content. She didn't know it, but honestly, she'd intrigued him that very first day when she'd walked into his life. That's why he made her pay off the debt; after all, with any other girl he would have just brushed it off as an accident or even laid the fault on Tamaki's head where it truly belonged.

It had taken him forever to think up a better plan to place her closer to his side. He smiled over his little secret. To think that this had all become possible because he bribed Renge with a copy of Uki Doki Memorial II. He just loved it when a good plan worked itself out.

**___________________________________________________________Well, I hope you all enjoyed my story. Honestly, it felt like it was over way too soon. (Although at 27 chapters, that probably wasn't the case.) In case you were wondering, if you look back when Renge said that her father's connections allowed her to get a hold of a copy of Uki Doki Memorial II...it was true; however Kyouya was her father's connection. Basically, he had this all planned out. He told Renge that he would get her a copy of Uki Doki Memorial II for her if she did two things for him. 1) She couldn't tell anybody of his involvement. 2) He had to give Haruhi a copy of Uki Doki Memorial as a birthday present. Renge considered this a small price to pay.**

**This story is based on the fact that Kyouya has been deeply in love with her for quite some time now, so I'm sorry if some of you thought that their love developed too quickly. However, when you're young it isn't hard to fall and fall fast; the rare thing is that it lasted. As always, thank you to all of my readers and especially to my reviewers! You're the reason I write. :-)**


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